Texas health officials did not identify Pham during a media briefing Monday afternoon, but Texas health commissioner Dr. David Lakey said the patient has a dog, and that authorities were working "hard to find a location" for the pet to be sure it is properly cared for.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said during the briefing that the patient has so far been "extremely helpful" while in isolation at the hospital. She identified just one contact with whom Pham had contact during a period when she was potentially infectious (though likely not, Frieden said). That person is being monitored.

Frieden added that officials were working to identify healthcare workers who cared for Duncan to see they are monitored. That process is still underway, and he said a total number of healthcare workers potentially exposed to the virus would be released on Tuesday.

"The care of Ebola is hard. We're working to make it safer and easier. The control of Ebola is something we know how to do," Frieden said on Monday. "We're assessing what more we can do to improve the care of people with Ebola at the source so we can stop it at the source but also reduce the risk to any healthcare workers going forward."

Frieden also clarified his earlier remarks about a "breach of protocol" at the Dallas hospital involving the treatment of Duncan. Some, Frieden said, might have taken that as criticism of hospital and its healthcare workers. "That was not my intention," he said.

The CDC was criticized by healthcare experts for allegedly scapegoating the hospital during a public-health crisis.

"You don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak," Bonnie Castillo, a disaster relief expert at National Nurses United, told Reuters. "We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct."

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